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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

This ice cream cake was a welcome challenge during the hot summer months! I decided to halve the entire recipe and made a mini cake (that was still large enough to serve 12 people).

The first component was a swiss roll that is filled with a vanilla whipped cream. I was familiar with the rolling method, as I've made pumpkin rolls in the past. The only change I made here was to use a 13x9-inch pan instead. Even though I followed the recipe exactly, I felt like there was way too much whipped cream for the amount of cake present. Plus, I think the cake would have been better if the roll had been filled with ice cream instead of just whipped cream. So, if I make this again, I'd probably fill it with chocolate ice cream instead.

The ice cream layers and fudge sauce came together quite nicely. I was at my mom's place when I made this recipe, so I made the ice cream without an ice cream maker. If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can find instructions on how to make your own ice cream here. I think my favorite part of this cake was the chocolate ice cream. I loved how it was rich and creamy without being a custard ice cream recipe. I will definitely be making it again.

As a whole, this recipe was fun to make, but I'm not sure if I'd make it again. I'll definitely make the chocolate ice cream again, but when it comes to ice cream cakes, I think I prefer a traditional ice cream cake.

Thanks Sunita, for hosting this month's challenge. Make sure you check out the Daring Bakers' Blogroll to see how everyone else enjoyed this cool and creamy summer treat.

Pre heat the oven at 200 deg C /400 deg F approximately. Brush the baking pans ( 11 inches by 9 inches ) with a little oil and line with greaseproof baking paper. If you have just one pan, bake one cake and then let the pan cool completely before using it for the next cake.

In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat till very thick; when the beaters are lifted, it should leave a trail on the surface for at least 10 seconds.

Add the flour mixture, in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula. Fold in the water.

Divide the mixture among the two baking pans and spread it out evenly, into the corners of the pans.

Place a pan in the centre of the pre heated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the centre is springy to the touch.

Spread a kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle a little caster sugar over it.

Turn the cake on to the towel and peel away the baking paper. Trim any crisp edges.

Starting from one of the shorter sides, start to make a roll with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped roll on a rack, seam side down.

Repeat the same for the next cake as well.

For the filling

Grind together the vanilla pieces and sugar in a food processer till nicely mixed together. If you are using vanilla extract, just grind the sugar on its own and then add the sugar and extract to the cream.

In a large bowl, add the cream and vanilla-sugar mixture and beat till very thick.

Divide the cream mixture between the completely cooled cakes.

Open the rolls and spread the cream mixture, making sure it does not go right to the edges (a border of ½ an inch should be fine).

Roll the cakes up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge till needed, seam side down.

Method-
Grind together the sugar and vanilla in a food processor.In a mixing bowl, add the cream and vanilla –sugar mixture and whisk lightly till everything is mixed together. If you are using the vanilla extract, grind the sugar on its own and then and the sugar along with the vanilla extract to the cream.

Pour into a freezer friendly container and freeze till firm around the edges. Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.

Place the pan over heat and keep stirring till it begins to bubble around the edges.

Remove from heat and cool completely before transferring to a freezer friendly container till firm around the edges. If you are using an ice cream maker, churn the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s instruction, after the mixture has cooled completely.

Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.

Cover the bottom and sides of the bowl in which you are going to set the dessert with cling film/plastic wrap.

Arrange two slices at the bottom of the pan, with their seam sides facing each other. Arrange the Swiss roll slices up the bowl, with the seam sides facing away from the bottom, to cover the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till the slices are firm (at least 30 minutes).

Soften the vanilla ice cream. Take the bowl out of the freezer, remove the cling film cover and add the ice cream on top of the cake slices. Spread it out to cover the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till firm ( at least 1 hour)

Add the fudge sauce over the vanilla ice cream, cover and freeze till firm . ( at least an hour)

Soften the chocolate ice cream and spread it over the fudge sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4-5 hours till completely set .

Remove the plastic cover, and place the serving plate on top of the bowl. Turn it upside down and remove the bowl and the plastic lining. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water. The bowl will come away easily.

Keep the cake out of the freezer for at least 10 minutes before slicing, depending on how hot your region is. Slice with a sharp knife, dipped in hot water.

* Recipe Notes -

You do not need an ice cream maker for this recipe. But if you will be using one, make sure you churn the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s instructions after mixing the ingredients.

Whipping cream is a lighter version of double cream, with at least 35 per cent fat, and it whips beautifully without being quite so rich.

Vanilla extract is made from vanilla beans that have been steeped in alcohol while vanilla essence is commercial manufactured by chemicals.

Caster sugar is finely ground granulated sugar. It can also be found as “superfine sugar”, “fruit sugar” or “quick dissolving sugar”. If you can’t find it, you can make your own by whizzing some regular granulated sugar in the food processor or blender.

Keep aside enough time for cooling and chilling the rolls and also for the layers to firm up before adding the next one. Moreover, the ice creams have also got to be made before assembling. I spread out the challenge over two days. I made the cakes and ice creams on the first day, and the fudge topping and assembly on the second day.

While adding the final layer with the second ice-cream, make sure not to add it right to the brim. It may spill and will not look good.

While inverting the final dessert onto the serving plate, if the cling film refuses to budge from the bowl, just wipe the outside of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water. The bowl will release from the dessert very easily.

Take the dessert out of the freezer at least 10 minutes before serving, of course depending on how hot it is in your neck of the woods.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

This week's Sweet Melissa Sundays (SMS) recipe was chosen by Rebecca of Indecisive Baker: Toasted Almond Lemon Bars. I love a good lemon bar - there is just something to be said about a crumbly shortbread crust and sweet, tart, lemon filling!

Melissa's shortbread crust is actually an almond shortbread crust. This, along with the almond extract that is added to the filling sets it apart from traditional lemon bars. I really think the almond extract added an extra dimension to these bars so please don't skip it if you make these!

I actually had some issues with my crust. I froze my crust for 1 hour before baking, and even then my pie weights (old socks filled with rice) caused the dough to stick to my foil! Next time I will butter the foil before covering the crust. Luckily the crust took longer than the indicated 20-25 minutes to bake because I was able to scrape the dough that was stuck to the foil (which would have left a big hole in my crust!) and put it back into the pan! I then continued to bake the crust, uncovered, for another 10 minutes or so until it was lightly golden brown and baked through.

The filling was a cinch and I had no issues there, though I wonder if I maybe whipped the eggs a little too much because I did end up with a little bit of a bubbly crust on top. It didn't matter though, as it did not affect the taste of the lemon bars and I was able to cover the top up with the powdered sugar.

All in all, I enjoyed these lemon bars and will definitely be making them again. If you're looking to make some fancy lemon bars, try these Slammin' Citrus Squares which are lemon bars topped with white chocolate lemon balm icing. The filling also contains orange and lime zest which gives it an added little zip!

Thanks Rebecca, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the Sweet Melissa Sundays Blog Roll to see how everyone else enjoyed these sweet, tart treats.

*Recipe notes:

- I would recommend freezing the crust for at least 1-2 hours before baking. Then, butter the foil before covering the crust and putting it in the oven. If you freeze the dough long enough, you will not need to use pie weights when baking.

- My crust took about 35 minutes to bake, not the indicated 20-25 minutes.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Kimberly of Only Creative Opportunities: Lots of Ways of Banana Cake. It's a moist banana cake made with bananas, coconut milk and toasted coconut. Dorie calls it "lots of ways" because you can adapt it however you'd like. If you don't have brown sugar you can use white sugar. If you don't have coconut milk on hand, you can use buttermilk, sour cream, etc. What a wonderful way to use up some over ripe bananas (instead of the old standby banana bread!).

I had big plans for this recipe... I wanted to make cupcakes and then top them with some chocolate whipped cream. Unfortunately, I didn't read the recipe ahead of time and did not realize that the chocolate whipped cream requires 4 hours of chilling time in the refrigerator (preferably overnight). So, I ended up with rum drenched lots of ways banana cupcakes instead! I simply used the rum syrup recipe from the Rum Drenched Vanilla Cakes we recently made. These cupcakes were super moist, and had just the right amount of banana and coconut flavor to them. I used half of the cake batter for cupcakes and then other half for a single layer cake - I'll make the chocolate whipped cream for the cake tomorrow when I get the chance!

Thanks Kimberly, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this minty, chocolate treat!

* Recipes notes:- The cupcakes took 18-20 minutes to bake. I was able to get about 15 cupcakes from half of the recipe.- I baked the rest in a 9-inch round cake pan. This cake took about 30 minutes to bake.
- For tips from other TWD bakers, click here.

I followed the recipe exactly as written, except I did not include the optional walnuts because I don't like nuts in my brownies. Unfortunately, I used my convection oven to bake these up and forgot to reduce the baking time :( So, instead of moist fudgey brownies, I ended up with dry, barely edible brownies! I was sorely disappointed because I knew that with two (yes, two!) sticks of butter in this recipe, these brownies had to be good. Oh well. Lesson learned. I will have to give these brownies another try in the future.

Thanks Tiffany, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the Sweet Melissa Sundays Blog Roll to see how everyone else enjoyed these classic, chocolate treats.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Karen of Welcome to our Crazy Blessed Life: Brrrrr-ownies. Classic chocolate brownies studded with bits of York Peppermint Patties! I love the combination of chocolate and mint together, so the idea of these brownies sounded terrific.

I was traveling this week, so my post is a few days late. I also had to adapt the recipe a bit, based on what I had on hand because I haven't had a chance to go grocery shopping yet since coming home yesterday.

So, my brrrr-ownies were made with 4.5 ounces of peppermint patties (I had some on hand, but had already eaten over half the bag - ha!) and dark chocolate instead of bittersweet chocolate. Ideally, I would have used semisweet chocolate chips (convenient, no chopping!), but my husband ate all the chocolate chips while I was gone!

I had read some comments about the brownies sticking to the foil, so I made sure to butter my foil generously, and had no such issues. I had also read that the bits of peppermint patties kind of melted away into the brownies for others, so I chopped each patty into six pieces, thinking the larger chunks wouldn't melt away. Well, they didn't quite melt away, but they did form these nice little craters in the majority of my brownies!

This seemed to be mostly a cosmetic flaw, as they were pretty tasty. Kind of like thin mints meets brownies. Thanks Karen, for hosting this week. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you check out the TWD Blogroll, to see how everyone else enjoyed this minty, chocolate treat!

* Recipes notes:- I baked my brownies in a 9-inch square pan and decreased the baking time to 25 minutes. - I used dark chocolate instead of bittersweet chocolate, but next time I will probably use semisweet chocolate instead - just not a dark or bittersweet chocolate kind of girl.
- For tips from other TWD bakers, click here.

Monday, July 12, 2010

When you think about that one moment in your day that is just for you, that one moment where you’re able to enjoy some “me” time and wipe away the cares of the day, what do you think of? For me as a new mother, sometimes just being able to take a long hot shower is a "mini moment" that feels like "a day at the spa" - and I know that other mothers out there know exactly what I am talking about ;)

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was the Tart Noire. It's a basic chocolate tart but I'm still at my parents' place and my mom doesn't have a tart pan. Plus, I'd probably have to eat it all by myself (I know, poor me, right?) because my dad's on a cholesterol busting diet and my mom doesn't like anything that is too rich.

So I bring to you a recipe for something I made some time ago, but never got around to posting - classic chocolate ice cream. I mentioned it when I made the Baby Ruth Ice Cream Pie and now here I am, months later, finally posting the recipe for it. Better late than never, right?

Like many of the recipes in David Lebovitz' The Perfect Scoop, this is another custard based ice cream recipe. The egg yolks really give it a rich, creamy chocolate flavor that keeps you going back for more. I promise that if you have never made a custard based ice cream before you just have to try it once before you realize how easy it is! Don't let the egg yolks scare you!

Whenever I make this recipe, it usually only lasts about two days in our household because I can't keep my husband out of it! If you're in search of a good chocolate ice cream recipe, look no further - this ice cream is the perfect way to beat the summer heat while satisfying those chocolate cravings :)

Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolk. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over the medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (170°F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.)